The United States to Assist Nigerian Military in the Application of Artificial Intelligence
The main goal of Mr. Dean’s brief visit to Nigeria is to have more in-depth discussions about diplomatic initiatives to promote peace and stability.
The United States is prepared to assist the Nigerian military in implementing and modifying artificial intelligence in order to combat terrorists within the borders of the West African nation.
At a meeting with journalists in Abuja, Paul Dean, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the US Bureau of Arms Control, Deterrence, and Stability (ADS), made this declaration.
The main goal of Mr. Dean’s brief visit to Nigeria is to have more in-depth discussions about diplomatic initiatives to promote peace and stability.
Our goal in being here is to fortify the already solid connection in the area of hard security. According to the senior State Department source, “We’re looking to cooperate in areas of artificial intelligence in the military and building a normative framework for the responsible use of artificial intelligence in the military.”
He said that because artificial intelligence would help military better their operations in a very real way, the ADS agency is eager to support its adoption.
Our goal is to promote the military’s beneficial use of artificial intelligence. The goal of this initiative, which we and our partners launched just last month, is to maximize the enormous potential of artificial intelligence in military applications while also ensuring that the global community has come together behind a set of responsible behavior norms to ensure that we are minimizing the risk of unintended consequences or harmful applications.
“We are confident that the international community will be able to optimize the benefits while lowering the risks of reckless approaches when states pledge to use this technology in a predictable, transparent, stable, and responsible manner,” the US official stated.
The horrific incident that occurred on Sunday night in Tudun Biri village, Kaduna State, where a drone ”hunting terrorists and bandits” mistakenly murdered over 100 civilians and injured numerous more, has left Nigerians in despair.
The incident was the most recent in a string of careless bombings of Nigerian citizens. There were at least 14 recorded instances of these attacks in residential areas between February 2014, when a Nigerian military plane dropped a bomb in Borno state, killing 20 civilians, and September 2022, according to sources.
Following the most recent incident, the military has faced intense criticism. ”This kind of mistake or negligence can easily be avoided in this era of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) or Industry 4.0 that we are witnessing through the use of emerging technologies or destructive technologies. With emerging technologies such as the application of artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning, almost 100 per cent accuracy can be attained while using drones for wars and other military operations,” Isa Pantami, the erstwhile minister of communications, wrote on his X account.
The US official, Mr. Dean, offered his “sincere condolences on the tragedy that occurred earlier this week.” He went on to say that implementing AI will aid militaries in increasing productivity, getting rid of prejudices, and making better decisions all around.
”I think we have a lot in common, and one thing I hope we can work with our Nigerian partners on is projecting our shared leadership and our shared commitment to ensuring that nuclear weapons are never used, that chemical weapons are never used, and that countries who are incorporating artificial intelligence to their militaries, which will be all countries, are doing so in a stable, safe, reliable, predictable, and stabilizing manner,” Mr. Dean said, speaking about potential areas of collaboration with the most populous country in Africa.
A historic political declaration on the safe use of autonomy and artificial intelligence in military applications was adopted by the United States and forty-seven other allies last month.
“We sincerely appreciate that our Nigerian partners are interested in supporting this declaration and cooperating with us to enhance its ten principles of responsible behavior, hone them, and develop global capability to put them into practice,” Mr. Dean said.
“I think we have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to collaborate with all of our partners and establish the international framework of accountability for artificial intelligence in the military from the ground up.”
In addition, he stated that his organization is open to working with the federal authorities to stop the country’s supply of weapons and ammunition from proliferating.
Our Bureau’s activity encompasses the entire spectrum of conflict deterrence, stability promotion, and the establishment of responsible behavior norms in the military sphere. Furthermore, I believe that this makes us a perfect match for our Nigerian partners.
He declared, “We’re here to cooperate in areas of mutual interest and concern regarding the use of risk reduction measures to advance issues of regional security, the pursuit of nuclear stability, the prohibition of chemical weapons, and the responsible use of space.”
